Favorite Mistake

FM 28

I rushed as I parked my car in my designated slot, flinching as the glare of the sun hit me. Shades on with my usual morning frown, I made my way to the hospital. Time check, 6:30am. I passed by starbucks first to get my morning bolt of caffeine.

"Good morning Dr. Valdez"

"Hi Jane, I'll get the usual"

"Tall white chocolate mocha, double espresso to go for the gorgeous Dr. Valdez" and the baristas wolf-whistled, making me laugh.

"Anything to eat mam?"

"No"

"That would be.."

"Wait" I cut her, as I saw sausage rolls on the display counter "make that 2 orders of coffee and I'll get 2 of that"

I paid for my orders. Timecheck, 6:45, she'd better not be late. I smiled smuggly as I made my way to my clinic.

As I turned right to the corridor where my clinic is located, I noticed a figure on the bench beside my door. Reaching it, I saw Den asleep, head dwindling to her side. By her position, she'll definitely had a bad neck after this.

"Dennise" I called out to her.

"Hmmm" she stirred from slumber

"Den" I called her again, gently tapping her shoulder

"Hmmm, babe, 5 minutes" she replied as she tried to shifted position.

"Dr. Lazaro!!" I said with full authority, causing her to bolt from her seat.

"Oh shishh, sorry" she stood up, a bit disoriented. Picking up her bag, she dragged it upside down, causing the contents to spill. "Shish" she cursed at herself again.

"What time did you get here?"

"6am"

I raised my eyebrows at her, wondering why she was here that early.

"I know how much you hate late people. And I really really need this paper to be done with you. Like.. REALLY" she stressed

"Then this must be really REALLY important to you" I taunted her as I opened the door.

"Come in"

She motioned a small salute and whispered "ay ay captain" thinking that I didn't notice.

As she took a seat across from me, she started wringing her hands. This is her habit when she's nervous

Fidgeting in her seat, she scratched her neck. "Ly.. Ahmm,"

"I prefer that you address me as Dr. Valdez. And I shall refer to you as Dr. Lazaro. That would be better"

"Oh, ok" She sank on her chair like a scolded child.

"Look, whether we like it or not, we're already in this situation. So I suggest, let's just forget whatever was in the past and just treat each other as colleagues."

"That's cold.." She mumbled.

"It is better that we maintain our dealings at a professional level."

She just nodded, refusing to look at me. I then started fixing the food and coffee on the desk.

"Anyway, let's have breakfast first so that we can already proceed to research after this"

She bit her lower lip as she looked at me

"What?" I asked

"Dr. Valdez, I'm afraid this might qualify as a breakfast date. And that is unprofessional."

I looked at her in shock, but then she blurted out laughing. "Gotcha!" She snapped her fingers at me and then grabbed her food.

--------

I stretched as I heard my back bones crack. "Ouch" I whimper, as I tried to rotate my neck to ease some tension. This is the third straight day that we have been doing 16-hour days, due to our clinic plus our research. We have been rushing this paper as it is due for submission within 2 weeks and there's just so much things to do.

Standing up to do some stretches, I got a glimpse of her. She was sat on the desk, head plopped on top of her books, sleeping.

I know I've been driving her hard the past days, and there have even been times that I snapped at her. But not once did she answer back. I was deliberately giving her a hard time, forcing her go give up, but she never left.

I walked towards her to turn off her desk lamp so that she can sleep peacefully, even for a few minutes. As I reached out for the lamp, I couldn't help but take a few moments to actually look at her. Her face is still exactly the way I remember it, save for a few lines around her eyes, which I know is from staying up late for years in med school.

I leaned closer to her so that I can take off her glasses, which is squished in her arm. As I moved her head a bit to make her feel more comfortable, I brushed some of her hair off of her face.

"What time is it?" She sleepily asked.

"11pm"

Still with her eyes closed, I saw how she battled to wake up, but would end up slumping her head again on her arms.

"It's ok Den, let's call it a night"

Her head shot up, and I immediately knew my mistake. "Dr. Lazaro, I meant Dr. Lazaro"

She was smiling at me, which honestly was starting to irritate me.

"Whatever, let's go home" I said as I started to pack my things.

"Dr. Valdez..." She called behind me, and I turned to face her. "I know we had a sad past. No amount of sorrys would erase what I did" she walked towards me and held my hands "but I want you back in my life. Even if just as my friend, I think I can learn to live with that, rather than not having you at all."

I fell silent. For the past years, I've always thought about the things I would tell her when I see her. Would I be angry? Would I scream at her? Would I finally have answers? I stare at her asking for answers for the turmoil in my head.

I sighed "trust has to be earned"

"I know. And I'll do everything to earn it back. Can I at least call you Ly now?" I could see the anxiety in her eyes as she waited for my answer.

"I guess, we can work on that... Den."

I saw her face break out into a smile as she lunged to hug me "thank you" she whispered in my ear.

------

"Den, can you check this out?" Ly called out to Den as they were busy revising their final draft, which was due for submission tomorrow.

Walking next to Ly, Den held a slice of pizza, which she offered to Ly. Ly took a bite from Den's pizza slice, and drank from her glass of juice, while Den read from Ly's laptop.

While Ly expected this partnership to be a difficult one, even disastrous, it surprised her how they easily slid back into being friends. No awkwardness, no tension. Even Ella was surprised when they didn't have catfight that she was expecting, much to her dissatisfaction.

Den stood beside Ly as she placed her elbow on Ly's shoulder and she was busy reading their work. Den broke into a smile, "Chief was right, you are the best" and she kissed Ly on the cheek.

Both were stunned at what happened. Den immediately separated from Ly" sorry Ly.." fear evident in her eyes, afraid that she has crossed the line.

"Hey, no worries, come here" Ly motioned to give her a hug, to prove to her that everything was already ok with the two of them. When Den didn't move, Ly walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.

Den laid her head on Ly's chest "I missed you so much Ly". She reached up to hold Ly's face as she kissed her cheeks. Den tiptoed so that she can reach to kiss Ly's eyes, her forehead.

"I missed you too, Besh" Ly replied, as she touched their foreheads together, trapping Den in her embrace.